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Interconnects, speaker wire, power cords. Ask the Cable Guys.

Either speaker or interconnect cables can be the entry point

for strong RF signals that "break through" and are audible on your audio system. Power amps are not designed to block RF that enters through their output terminals, and the stray capacitances and inductances inside allow RF to go anywhere it pleases.

The way to resolve this problem is to start with the amp connected to the speaker and no input cables. Do you hear the radio station? If not, the speaker cables are OK. If you do, experiment with the speaker cables, and be sure you have clean connections at both ends. Dirty or corroded connections act as rectifiers for RF. Some speakers are excellent radio antennas in themselves.

Proceed to add the interconnect cables and repeat the test. Work your way back upstream until you identify the component or set of cables that are allowing the RF to get in.

Even though you eliminate breakthrough, the strong RF field in your house will create problems with your audio signal. You have my sympathy, because it will take a lot of work to remove the effects of the RF.


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  • Either speaker or interconnect cables can be the entry point - Al Sekela 09:38:47 04/04/07 (0)

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